Carrier handle for mounting on carton packings having a folded top closure

ABSTRACT

A carrier handle unit mountable on a top folded carton packing, the unit comprising a handle portion (4) connected to a vertical base plate portion (2) having at its top end a rigid upper portion (6) for engaging the top folding of the packing and at its lower end forwardly projecting, resiliently outwardly bendable plate arm members (8), which at their outer ends, are shaped with short inwardly and towards each other projecting end portions (10) that are able to grip over the outside of the packing opposite packings side engaged by the base plate portion. The carrier handle unit can be made in one piece, it provides for a stable connection between the handle portion and the packing, and it is easy to mount and dismount by a crosswise displacement or pivoting because the plate arm members need be spread only slightly for movement thereof into or away from their engagement with the said outside of the packing.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a carrier handle unit for releasablemounting on carton packings having a folded top closure, typically milkand juice cartons.

BACKGROUND ART

It is a standing problem that these consumer packings can be difficultto handle, particularly for people with small or rheumatic hands, as thecartons are then a little too large.

On that background, carrier handle units have already been proposedwhich are more or less easy to mount, e.g. on milk cartons of the typemade of a square carton sleeve having an upper roof edge folding, whichis openable at one end and has an outwardly open cavity at the oppositeend. This cavity is well suited to receive a carrier head on a cartonsurrounding portion mounted in a lower position around the cartonitself, and when this or these portions are furthermore connected with aprojecting handle member, the carton will thus be provided with auseful, easily seizable holder and pourer handle.

Such a handle unit is known e.g. from U.S. Pat. No. 2,992,847, where thecarton surrounding portion is a four-sided plate ring adapted to belowered over the upper end of the carton. At one of its sides, the platering is provided with an outwardly and downwardly projecting handle,which has at its top end a pivot pawl with a carrier head portion thatcan be swung into the said cavity and thus be brought into carrierengagement with the carton, while for demounting of the unit it can beswung outwardly from this engagement. It is unsuitable, however, thatsuch a holder should consist of more parts, and in use the carrier headmight incidentally be swung out of its engagement with the carton,whereby an annoying operational failure may occur. Furthermore, thepositioning of a holder ring at the very top of the carton is not toogood, since by pouring with the carton a rather powerful breakinginfluence on the carton will occur at that place.

In another known handle unit, cf. U.S. Pat. No. 2,976,074, the handlemember is provided as a double wire loop, the upper end of whichcontinues in a widened carrier head portion for introduction into thesaid cavity, while at the lower end the wire continues in a wire shapedsurrounding portion around the carton. The wire is a spring wire thatenables the carrier head portion to be brought into the cavity after thelowering of the surrounding portion over the carton, but since theconnection between the surrounding portion and the carrier head portionis an outwardly bent handle portion of spring wire there will not beobtained any rigid or stiff engagement with the carton, which makes thehandle unit uncomfortable in use. In a special embodiment thesurrounding portion consists of two side wire hooks, which can be swungresiliently away from each other and thereby enable the surroundingportion to be mounted by a lateral insertion over the carton; the freeends of the wire hooks are joined after the mounting by hooking togetherrespective bent out end portions of the free hook ends. By such alateral insertion of the entire handle unit, it is easy to introduce thecarrier head portion in the said cavity, but it is troublesome to haveto carry out a wide resilient spreading of the wire hooks and asubsequent joining of their outer ends, and besides, such a joint willexhibit a certain tear risk.

Also juice cartons have been mentioned, whereby reference is made tocartons having that type of top closure which reveals itself as a flatcarton top side with outwardly projecting, folded down triangular flapsat the opposed narrow sides. This carton type is also used extensivelyfor wine. In this connection it is sufficient if the said carrier headportion is adapted so as to engage about the downfolded flap at the endof the top closure opposite to the opening end thereof, as a carrierengagement may then be established with the underside of the root areaof the flap.

Also for such cartons, handle units have been developed, see WO83/00852, which discloses a unit consisting of an upper cartonsurrounding ring having at one end a projection, in which a slot isprovided for receiving the said triangular closure flap, while theprojection continues downwardly in a handle portion having at its lowerend an inwardly extending portion abutting the adjacent narrow side ofthe carton. The entire unit is separated in a joinable manner downthrough the handle portion, such that the separated parts are coherentwith the respective opposed ends of the carton surrounding ring. Formounting this unit the surrounding ring, from a wide open positionthereof, is closed around the carton until the two halfparts of thehandle portion can be mutually joined. The slot forming part will herebybe introduced over or onto the triangular flap from opposite sidesthereof, but this is a very troublesome manner of mounting the unit. Itmay well be achieved that the surrounding ring is tightened stronglyabout the carton by the wrapping on of the ring, but the mounting willbe the more difficult the tighter the surrounding is, and in practicethere is no need for any particularly tight squeezing of the carton.

With the use of the said surrounding rings there is connected anoticeable hygienic disadvantage, viz. in that they extend across theside of the carton located underneath the pouring opening of the carton.Fluid running down the carton side from this opening will, directly orthrough the capillary effect, intrude behind the ring portion coveringthat side, and such fluid will not be removed by wiping the carton side.Such an exterior fluid residue, e.g. of milk, may well give rise tobacteriological problems before the carton is emptied and removed fromthe normal area of use.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

On this background, the invention more specifically relates to a handleunit for detachable mounting on carton packings having a folded topclosure, typically milk and juice cartons, with a handle portion inconnection with an upper carrier head portion, which is adopted to bebrought into carrying engagement with a seizable portion of the topclosure, e.g. an insert portion for insertion into an end cavity of thetop closure or a slotted portion for receiving an outer downfolded endflap, and which is furthermore connected with holding means forestablishing a holding engagement with the body of the carton packing.More particular, the invention has for its purpose to provide such ahandle unit, which is noticeably improved relative to the priorproposals; according to the invention this is achieved by the carrierhead portion being provided on a plate portion which extends downwardlyalong the carton side and forms,a holding base for a handle portionprojecting from this plate portion, while the plate portion at oradjacent its lower end is connected with opposed, forwardly extendingarm portions, which are resiliently bendable away from each other and attheir outer ends are provided with end portions that are bent inwardlytowards each other so as to be engageable over respective opposite edgeareas of the carton side located opposed to the handle portion and atthat place extend over a distance noticeably smaller than the half ofthe width of the narrow carton side.

Through the direct plate connection between the carrier head portion andthe carton surrounding portion, independent of the presence of thehandle portion, it is possible to achieve an advantageous rigid orsemi-rigid connection between these portions, and it is hereby importantthat the width of the plate connection can be larger than the width ofthe handle portion, as the latter appears as a separate elementprojecting from the connector plate portion. In other words, the widthof the connector plate portion will not be limited to a desirable smallwidth of the handle portion, and just thereby it is possible to arrangefor a suitably stiff connection. The handle portion may well contributeto this stiffness, but without being the only stiffening element.

The said protruding arm portions holding the carton at their outer endswill be located spaced noticeably from the top of the carton, wherebythey will not give rise to any important breaking action on the cartonwhen the carton is tilted for pouring purposes. For an efficient holdingof the carton, it is sufficient that the outer arm ends be shortlyprotruding over the corners of the carton side opposite to the handleportion, this having two important effects:

1) The holding unit can be introduced laterally by a crosswisedisplacement or pivoting over the carton by a relatively small spreadingof the arm portions, viz. a spreading only corresponding to the lengthof the bent in end portions, whereby the arm portions will in no wayneed to be super resilient, but resilient only to such a degree thatthey may well consist of die cast plastic produced integrally with thesaid plate portion. Thus, it will be quite easy to mount the unit by alateral introduction, whereby the carrier head portion will also be easyto bring in carrier connection with the carton.

2) After the mounting of the unit, the outer bent-in end portions of theprojecting arms will not meet each other at the opening side of thecarton, i.e. the said surrounding portion will be interrupted at themiddle area of this carton side. This involves that fluid running downthis side from the pouring opening will not meet with or get depositedbehind the surrounding portion, i.e. the liquid will be freelyaccessible for wiping without giving rise to noticeable hygienicproblems.

Thus, the holder unit according to the invention may appear as a unitarycasting, which in addition to being produced as a single piece in asimple manner can also exhibit important advantages both with respect tomounting and use.

In the following the invention is described in more tail with referenceto the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a handle unitaccording to the invention,

FIG. 2 the same, shown mounted on a milk carton,

FIG. 3 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 of another embodiment of thehandle unit, and

FIG. 4 the same, shown mounted on a juice carton.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The handle unit shown in FIG. 1 is a one-piece plastic castingcomprising a base plate portion 2 which, at its top and bottom end, isconnected with a projecting handle portion 4, while at its top itcontinues in an upwardly tapered plate portion 6 that projects upwardlywhile slanting to the opposite side of the handle 4. At the side edgesof its lower end the base plate 2 continues in a pair of opposite platearms 8 which in a parallel or slightly converging manner project to theopposite side of the handle 4. At their outer ends the plate arms havean inwardly bent end portion 10, such that these end portions arelocated just opposite to each other.

The plate arms 8 are resiliently outwardly bendable, and since the endportions 10 are each of a relatively short length, the arms will be easyto bend out into positions, in which they can be introduced laterallyover a milk carton, see FIG. 2, by a crosswise displacement or pivoting.By such a lateral mounting movement of the handle unit, the plateportion 6 serving as a carrier head portion is easy to introduce intothe upper, laterally exposed cavity 12 in the top closure 14 of the milkcarton, and the mounting of the handle unit will be completed when atthe end of the mounting movement, by a crosswise displacement orpivoting the plate arms 8 swing resiliently together against the cartonand with the end portions 10 engaging over the carton side opposite tothe handle 4. The unit can be correspondingly easily released, as it issufficient to spread the plate arms 8 slightly, e.g. by pressing the endportions 10 away from each other, outwardly from their holdingengagement with the carton side.

Thus, the handle unit is easy to release and dismount in an intentionalmanner, while it can hardly be released in an unintentional manner, i.e.in use it will remain mounted with a high stability. During pouring ofor with the carton it is advantageous that the carton is carried by thearm end portions 10 way down on the carton, though not as far down asthe middle of the carton, as the carton could then incidentally tilt outof its engagement with the carrier head, even though the handle unitwould still be stabilized adjacent the carton surrounding area. Thehandle unit, therefore, should be adapted to standard milk cartons suchthat these will be held about the upper half of the carton.

As mentioned it is advantageous that there is a free space between theopposed end portions 10, as small fluid portions running down therespective carton side from the pouring opening of the carton will notthen be held back by the carton surrounding portion or get depositedtherebehind. Also, the rundown area on the carton side can be freelywiped off.

The handle unit according to FIG. 3 is adapted for cartons of the typehaving a flat top closure with protruding, downfolded triangular flaps12, see FIG. 4. Here the carrier head portion 6 of FIG. 1 is substitutedby a horizontal slot 14 in the upper end portion 16 of the base plate2'. By considering FIG. 4 it will be easily understood that the handleunit is mountable after a slight bending out of the triangular flap 12and a following insertion of the flap into the slot 14 while the handleunit is held in an inclined position swung out from the carton sideabout this area of engagement. The handle unit may then be swung intoits mounted position by a spreading and introduction of the plate arms8.

The carrier engagement at the triangular flap 12 can be establishedeither by the top edge of the upper end portion 16 abutting theunderside of the root portion of the flap or by the side edges of theflap abutting the opposed ends of the slot 14. By the very swinging homeof the unit for the mounting thereof, the flap 12 will be influenced tobe slightly bent immediately at the slot area, and after the mounting ofthe unit this deformation will contribute to the holding of the unit inits upper position on the carton. In this connection it will be fully inorder that the plate arms 8 engage the carton down below the middlethereof, because when the carton is poured it cannot leave its holdingengagement at the flap 12 anyway. Also this handle unit will be wellsecured against being unintentionally released, while it is otherwiseeasy to release.

It will be appreciated that due to the relatively broad base plate 2, astable connection is obtained between the different portions of theunit, such that the handle 4 itself can be designed so as to be suitableonly as a handle.

I claim:
 1. A handle unit for detachable mounting on carton packingshaving a folded top closure such as milk and juice cartons, said handleunit having upper and lower ends and being formed integrally as onepiece and comprising a handle portion in connection with a rigid upper,plate-like carrier head portion at said upper end, which carrierhead-portion is angled upwardly so that the carrier head portion can beinserted into an end cavity of the top closure of a carton packing forsnugly engaging said top closure with the lower end of the handle unitin a position pivoted out from the carton side adjacent the end cavityof the top closure and so that the handle unit can be brought intocarrying engagement with a seizable portion of the top closure bypivoting the lower end of the handle unit into a final mounted positionon the carton, and which handle portion is furthermore connected withholding means of the handle unit for establishing a holding engagementwith the body of the carton packing, whereina. the handle portionprojects from a vertical base plate portion of the handle unit adaptedto be placed flat against the carton side, said upper carrier headportion being located at an upper end of said vertical base plateportion, b. said carton packing holding means being associated with thevertical base plate portion solely at the lower end thereof, c. saidholding means being constituted by opposed flat arm members projectingforwardly from the lower end of the base plate portion to respectiveouter arm end portions bent towards each other for engaging the cartonside opposite that carton side engaged by the vertical base plateportion when the handle unit is in its mounted position, d. said flatarm members being resiliently bendable away from each other for allowinginsertion of the arm members laterally over the carton body and snaplocking of said outer arm end portions at said opposite carton side whensaid handle unit is pivoted to the final mounting position, e. saidouter arm end portion each having a length smaller than half thedistance between the opposed flat arm members, and f. said handle unitbeing downwardly completely open so as to be mountable on said cartonwith its lower end spaced above the bottom of said carton.
 2. A handleunit according to claim 1, wherein the handle portion is constituted bya relatively narrow portion, which, at both its upper end and its lowerend, is connected with the base plate portion, which is broader than thehandle portion.
 3. A handle unit according to claim 1, said arm membersare constituted by plate shaped arm.
 4. A handle unit according to claim1, wherein said integrally formed one piece handle unit is a diecastplastic member.
 5. A handle unit according to claim 1, wherein saidupper carrier head portion is an upper, obliquely bent out part of thebase plate portion.